Jan Rutkowski is a Lead Economist at the World Bank, Human Development Economics, Europe and Central Asia Region. He received his Ph.D. from the Economics Department of Warsaw University in 1986. Before joining the Bank in 1994, Rutkowski was a Section Chief at the Research Center for Economics in Statistics in Warsaw, responsible for research in the areas of living standards, poverty and social indicators. In 1991-92 he was a research visitor at the Center for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and in 1992-94 he was a Fulbright Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School for Public Affairs, Princeton University. At the World Bank Rutkowski has been involved in labor market reforms in transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe (in Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova and Serbia). He also has carried out research on the impact of labor market developments on poverty, and on the links between labor market performance and business environment. His recent research interest focuses on the issue of job creation and job destruction and the determinants of employment growth. In particular, he examines the costs of doing business, which affect firm entry and expansion, and thus are the primary determinant of the pace of job creation. Rutkowski's recent analytical work includes studies of labor market performance in the EU new member states and in the FSU. He co-authored the recent World Bank report Enhancing Job Opportunities: Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.

He joined IZA as a Research Fellow in November 2004.